The Cottars

The Cottars have become Cape Breton’s latest musical success story in a remarkably short period of time, and their story is spreading quickly across North America, Europe, Asia and beyond. The four young Celts – brother/sister pairs Ciaran and Fiona MacGillivray and Jimmy and Roseanne MacKenzie – have been playing traditional music since early childhood. Ranging in ages from 15 to 17, each is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and stepdancer.



Since forming in late 2000, the two brother-and-sister duos have received standing ovations at virtually every show they’ve performed – from an early 2001 concert for hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, the Boston Symphony Hall with renowned tenor John McDermott in 2002, to their nationally televised performance at Canada’s 2003 East Coast Music Awards, where they received the award for Best New Artists, to Tryphony Music Hall in Tokyo, where they shared the stage with Celtic legends Atlan.



Folk and Celtic music audiences have known for years that Cape Breton Island is a hotbed of traditional music. So certainly The Cottars have grown up as musicians with a great affinity for Celtic music traditions, but they also have a flare for innovation and experimentation. In the same set, you may hear a centuries-old Irish air, an equally ancient Scottish fiddle tune, a contemporary American folk song, and self-composed piece by one of the bands members.